Crime scene unit takes part in Hardin investigation

Sunday

Feb 26, 2012 at 10:32 PMFeb 26, 2012 at 10:34 PM

The investigation into the death of 9-year-old Savannah Hardin is the first time the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office has called on the crime scene investigation expertise of Mark Hopwood and the Calhoun/Cleburne Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force.

BY LISA ROGERSTimes Staff Writer

The investigation into the death of 9-year-old Savannah Hardin is the first time the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office has called on the crime scene investigation expertise of Mark Hopwood and the Calhoun/Cleburne Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force.Sheriff Todd Entrekin said when an investigator got a search warrant for the home where Savannah was allegedly run until she collapsed by her grandmother on Feb. 17, Hopwood and the task force were contacted for help.Local officers assisted Hopwood and Brian Thompson, both agents with the task force, in photographing and collecting evidence.Hopwood probably is the most experienced crime scene investigator in the state. Entrekin said that is why Etowah County chose to become a partner with the task force, which expanded its services when the Department of Forensic Sciences closed the Jacksonville lab and stopped crime scene investigations.The “crime scene” at the home on Carlisle Acres Drive in the Mountainboro area contained little evidence, Entrekin said, but it was important to photograph the yard where Savannah was made to run for three hours.The investigation included measuring the area where the child was seen running to make an estimate of the distance she was required to run.Savannah died Feb. 20, three days after her grandmother allegedly made her run as punishment for lying about eating candy bars that she had gotten on the school bus.The girl’s grandmother, Joyce Hardin Garrard, 46, and her stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, 27, are charged with murder.Savannah apparently got the chocolate candy bars from someone on the school bus, ate them while on the bus and then lied to her grandmother, Entrekin said.Garrard apparently made the girl run outside their home near Mountainboro after she arrived home from school.Jessica Hardin called 911 about 6:45 p.m. when Savannah began having seizures and collapsed.She was taken off life support three days later after her father, a private contractor working overseas for the government, got back to the United States. Savannah’s father and stepmother had custody of her and she was living with her stepmother. An autopsy showed she was extremely dehydrated and had a low sodium level, Entrekin said, much like that of a marathon runner.“That’s why it is important to measure and document the crime scene,” Entrekin said. “We need to try to determine the distance she ran. It’s not a traditional crime scene.”Entrekin said since Etowah County partnered with the Calhoun/Cleburne unit, it has not had a crime that required such intensive crime scene analysis.“But I knew it was only a matter of time before we would need their services,” he said.Entrekin said it was a loss when DFS stopped crime scene investigations, and it was not practical for his office to hire and train its own personnel and buy equipment for a job that, fortunately, is not needed that often.“The partnership is great,” Entrekin said. “With somebody with Hopwood’s experience in crime scene investigation, and practically only minutes away to help process crime scenes, it’s a win-win situation for us.”Etowah County contributes to the program, Entrekin said, along with Cherokee, St. Clair, Calhoun, Clay and Cleburne counties.Because of Etowah County’s participation, any law enforcement agency in the county can utilize the crime scene services.“We’re glad to contribute to the program so we can be a part of it,” Entrekin said.Another benefit of the partnership is classes in criminal investigations made available through Jacksonville State University, at no cost to task force partners. The idea is to train officers to assist Hopwood and provide assistance in investigations.Investigators Robin Grant and Chad Langdale and Gadsden Police crime scene investigators Clay Grogan and Candice Garner this week were in a class on crime scene assessment.“It’s a tremendous asset to us,” Langdale said. “It helps give insight on what we need to do to preserve evidence at a crime scene. Hopwood is good at what he does and he brings knowledge. But he knows it’s important to pass the knowledge on, and that’s what he tries to do.”Grant, the evidence investigator at the sheriff’s office, said the classes teach students best way to collect evidence for a successful prosecution.“And he puts it on a level that makes it easy to understand,” he said of Hopwood. “You know that if you do it the way Hopwood teaches you, it’s going to be right.”Hopwood said the team approach is what is making the program so successful.“You can bring everyone together and everybody leaves their egos at the door,” he said. “We took the multi-jurisdictional approach. There is no way one agency can buy everything that you need. If one agency has a piece of equipment that is needed in an investigation in another county, it can be shared.”Hopwood agreed the training through JSU is another reason for the program’s success.“If we all go through the same kind of training, that is a big benefit,” he said.

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